Many people have asked Emily and I, Why Boston? The Lord brought us to this point through a process that actually started in 2013, shortly after we were married.

I felt a call from God to go plant a church. I saw the distinct need of gospel-centered churches through the information provided by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and we wanted to be a part of a gospel movement in a city that was far from God. That is our desire: to see people far from God come to faith in Jesus Christ.

We couldn’t shake the overwhelming number of cities in the Northeast that needed more gospel influence. More churches. More Christians.

Ultimately, Emily and I came to the same conclusion as many before us and as many will after us: we had to go. So, we began to pray. We didn’t know the specific direction or place, but we eventually narrowed down our desire to the Northeast region.

We were naturally drawn to Boston. We couldn’t ignore the demographics of the city:

  • 5.8 million people in the metro Boston area
  • Only 3% evangelical (if that)
  • 250,000 college students at over 80 universities and colleges
  • 150 nationalities represented

I went to a Catch the Vision tour offered by NAMB to scope out the area. Up until this point, neither Emily nor I had recently been to Boston. Within a day or two of the tour, I remember sending Emily a text saying, “This is it.” “We need to get you up here to see the city.” Seeing the need, meeting the network of church planters, and hearing their vision for the city, that’s when we knew: Boston would be our new home. Boston would be the place where we would do ministry. Boston is where we, prayerfully, will see great life change through the gospel. “This is it.”

We contacted NAMB and began the many hours of paperwork, questionnaires, interviews, and assessments. After being accepted as approved church planters within the NAMB network, Emily and I began preparations for fundraising, building a launch team, and packing up our lives to move.

We grew in our love for the city and the pieces of Boston that make the city so unique:

  • The density of people in such a small area = A massive opportunity for outreach and community
  • The high quantity of college students
    • If we share the love of Christ with these students, what’s to say they won’t end up across the nation or around the globe sharing their faith in Jesus Christ?
  • The strong representation of the nations
    • What if people of all nations living in Boston came to know the Lord? What if they then communicated to those within their home country to share the gospel? That believer is now a missionary to their home context.
  • The history of the city
    • Boston points to a long-lost foundation in Christianity. We believe that another Great Awakening could happen there and we desire to personally see it happen.

So, even when we ask ourselves, Why Boston?, we always go back to our overly simplistic answer: We love this city.